1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to relay welding detection, and more particularly to a relay welding detector, a relay equipment incorporating the same, and a relay welding detecting method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Europe, China and Taiwan, an alternating current (AC) power source has a live terminal, a grounded earth terminal and a neutral terminal coupled to the earth terminal. A relay may be coupled between the AC power source and a load so as to enable or disable power transfer from the AC power source to the load.
However, when the relay encounters welding fault, the relay may not be able to disable the power transfer from the AC power source to the load. Therefore, in order to meet safety requirements set up for various regional markets, such as U.S. and Europe, there is a need to detect whether the relay has welding fault. For instance, GE Corporation uses mechanical linkages to detect welding fault of the relay, which results in relatively high costs, hence, it is not competitive enough in the markets.